A SERENE BEACH & A FIERY FUNERAL

Prof. Lionel Aranha

On Saturday last, I took a short break from work and headed to my favourite haunt - a beach just 35 kms north of Mangalore. When I got on to the beach I noticed that a funeral pyre had been set up, some 150 ft away from the tide. There was an iron structure (a sort of a cradle/cum stand) on which the pyre was arranged. Enquiries revealed that an old lady from the fisherfolks hamlet had passed away; and as had been done over the ages, she would be cremated on the beach. I decided to stay on and observe.

The body was brought in a procession by the men folk. Women are banished from anywhere near the pyre. They stood around 400 mts away. The whole village did not turn up. The youngsters were busy playing cricket. They grumbled saying that the villagers should go to the cremation grounds designated by the govt, rather than come to the beach for cremation (that did not prevent the boys from using the beach as a lavatory the next morning)

After the rituals were over, the body was set on the pyre, covered with wood and the fire was lit. The strong winds made it difficult for the fire to catch on. But volunteers blocked the wind by holding up a screen made of tarpaulin.

The fire raged for well over two hours. Slowly, the crowd went away, after having a bottle of cool drink. Darkness settled down. Only the relatives stayed back. They stoked the fire and added more wood. I was told that they would stay on till the last embers died away. I was feeling sleepy and so I trudged back to the house where I usually stayed.

The next day morning I went down to the beach. They was no trace of the pyre. Everything had been cleared. There was no trace that a funeral had taken place the previous evening. The ashes & embers along with the flowers etc., were all dumped into the sea. I confronted the relatives with these questions:

WHY USE THE SEA AS A GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT?
WHY BURN BODIES ON BEACHES, WHEN CREMATION GROUNDS ARE AVAILABLE?

They looked bewildered & peered at me like I was from outer space. I retreated....

Anybody who has experienced this sort of a situation?

Prof. Lionel Aranha

I was preturbed because the human body takes long to burn. Wood is expensive. What if unburnt mortal remains are dumped into the sea?
That was worrying me. ......